The songs in “At Swim,” Lisa Hannigan’s latest, delve into difficult and existential issues, like prayer, death, and funeral rituals. PHOTO BY RICH GILLIGAN
By Colleen Taylor
The much-awaited new solo album from indie folk singer Lisa Hannigan is finally out. Hannigan released her third album, “At Swim”—her first in five years—just last week. When an album is as anticipated as this one, it is only natural to claim that this is her best record yet, her most distinctive and unique, but in the case of “At Swim,” such an idea is not just a hasty, excited claim, it is the audible truth. In this third album, Hannigan takes her exquisite, ethereal voice in a completely new and darker direction. This new path has enabled her to make some of the best art produced by the Irish music world this year.
Before “At Swim,” my favorite Hannigan songs were her peppier ones, like “What’ll I Do” from “Passenger” (2011). Pep, however, is not exactly a feature of “At Swim.” The songs delve into difficult and existential issues, like prayer, death, and funeral rituals. Hannigan’s voice has transformed to match these themes. Her vocals have dropped an entire octave for this album, and it suits her completely. The songs are melancholic and pull at the soul. They sometimes even sound a bit eerie, but never to the point of putting you off the music. Instead, the songs move and challenge the listener, leading him or her to self-inquiry and questions about the philosophy of life. For instance, “We burned our ships as black as the end” is a morose and poetic line from her song, “We the Drowned.” It goes on: “We know not the fire image we burn, but we sing and we sing and the flames grow higher.” This sense of foreboding comes through stylistically with Hannigan’s impressive vocal range, from deep raspy notes to powerful high ones, as well as through the steady piano chords that beat throughout the track. Hannigan knows exactly how to shape the style of her voice to the thematics of this album.
Hannigan has cited Janice Joplin, Joni Mitchell, and Nina Simone as influences in the past. Her career seems to be following an analogous trajectory to those singers, accessing the deeper, darker side of her artistry as her work matures. Her voice, in its deeper, raspy qualities, is more akin to Mitchell’s on this album than ever before. Although Hannigan has turned to American folk singers for her inspiration, I would argue there is something distinctly Irish in this most recent album, perhaps more so than in her first two. First off, the inquiry into funeral ritual is an Irish cultural practice attributed to women for centuries, dating back, of course, to keening. One could argue Hannigan’s “At Swim” is a modern, musical version of the keening practice, in the sense that it marks and seeks the meaning of both life and death. More obviously, however, the album’s Irishness appears in the influences of different Irish genres, like new age, even church choir music, and of course, acoustic folk. “Snow,” for example, displays background arrangement that is clearly drawn from Irish folk music in both its instrumentation and rhythm, involving a violin and percussion that sounds somewhat like a bodhran.
It is hard for me to pick a favorite track on this album. In fact, “favorite” seems like the wrong word considering the album’s topics. What’s more, the theme and sound of the album is completely cohesive, so that one cannot easily mark where one song ends and the next begins. That said, “Ora” is probably the song I find most moving and enchanting on the record. Hannigan’s voice floats across the notes, holding them in soft, subtle strength. It manages to be a seductive, romantic, and slightly harrowing song all at the same time. “Lo” and “Snow” are other frequently played tracks on my computer. They might be labeled the most folksy and familiar off the album for longtime Hannigan fans.
At the end of the day, a critic can only do so much linguistic explanation of “At Swim.” Hannigan’s album is truly a holistic piece of art that must be heard to be understood and appreciated. If there was any lingering doubt or competition before this album release, there can be no question now: Lisa Hannigan is the Joni Mitchell of 21st century Ireland. She has that special and magical ability to completely hypnotize her audience and bring them to new heights.
Listen to “At Swim” on Spotify or get your own copy through pre-order at atorecords.com.
